(Newser)
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Jon Hamm has a pretty dark secret from his college days, according to records unearthed by the AP and Star magazine. Court and university records show that the Mad Men star was accused of taking part in a hazing so violent that the victim left school, three other frat members went to jail, and the University of Texas at Austin chapter of Sigma Nu was disbanded. Court documents state that in November 1990, pledge Mark Sanders said he was beaten, led around a room with the claw of a hammer hooked under his genitals after failing to memorize details about Hamm and other frat members.

Sanders, who needed medical care after the incident, said the "really mad" Hamm, who was 20 years old at the time, hit him "square over" the kidney with a paddle and set his underwear on fire, forcing him to blow out the fire instead of putting it out with his hand, according to documents seen by the Star. According to the AP, a charge of assault against Hamm was dismissed, but he received "deferred adjudication" on a hazing charge, completing probation while never being officially convicted. University records show Hamm left college in his sophomore year at the end of the same semester as the hazing. (Last month, Hamm completed a 30-day alcohol rehab program.)